Phantom and the Beast
by SwannTurner
Summary: Kuroshitsuji Beauty and the Beast style. Ciel goes looking for Tanaka after the old man leaves on "business." But what he finds is nothing he could ever have imagined. This boy is the key to Sebastian's release, and the demon is Ciel's key to his past...
1. Prologue

Prologue

Once upon a time, in a far away land, a lord lived in a beautiful manor not that far from a quaint little town. Although his appearance was that of a human, the lord was actually a demon. He had grown accustomed to solitude and had a short temper, and so was cruel to humans other than his servants.

One stormy night, a knock sounded at the lord's door, and when he opened it, he saw a rain-drenched couple and their servant. They had been on their way to a party, but one of the wheels on their carriage was smashed when it rammed into a large rock. The husband offered his family's ring to the manor's master in return for shelter until the storm passed. Disgusted by the mere acknowledgement of humans at his door, the demon killed the man with one blow, and turned the woman and servant away. The man's wife was shocked at the sudden brutality, and so did not leave when told to do so by the lord, so he killed her as well. As her body fell beside her husband's, the demon turned on the servant and prepared to slay him too when a noise met his ears. It seemed to come from the woman's cloak, and he lifted it to reveal a crying child.

By demon law, any child orphaned directly by the hands of a demon was that demon's responsibility. Angered by the child's crying, the lord tried to awaken either parent, but it was too late. The demon felt tricked and raised his hand to rid himself of his burden. But just as he was about to strike the child, the lord was stopped by an invisible force. With a crack of thunder, a light illuminated him and the child. When it faded, he appeared as he really was; a demon. A gust of wind lifted a bit of the cloth covering the baby. There, on its left side, a strange mark was almost branded there, as proof of the bond between the human and demon. Repulsed by his form, the lord retreated to his manor, leaving the servant to pick up the child and run towards the nearest village for shelter.

The lord slammed the manor doors shut and felt something hard in his hand. Opening it, he saw the ring the man had offered him. Furious, the demon hurled it at the marble floor, but the ring did not break. It too, was a visible sign of the bond, and it would remain a constant reminder to the demon of the terms in place. The mark on the child's side would stay there until its thirteenth birthday. If it were to learn of its parents' murder, and could forgive the demon enough to see him as a father, the contract over them would be broken. If not, the demon would turn to ash to burn in hell eternally.

As the lord's anger began to fade slightly and be replaced with self-pity, his appearance returned to that of human-like form once more. But as time wore on, he would become angered very often and return to the demon form. He only had two moods; self-pity and wrath. The lord was convinced he would never see the child again, much less be forgiven. For who could ever love a demon?


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

The door made no noise as the boy closed it in the mid-morning light. With a thin folder clutched tightly against his chest to protect it from harm, he traipsed down the steps and up the street into the heart of the town. It wasn't long before the sounds of the city reached his ears. At some invisible line, it was as if the volume was turned up as the townspeople filled the area with activity.

"Hello!"

"Good morning!"

"Hi!"

"Hey there!"

"Mornin'!"

The blue-haired boy was welcomed by the usual stream of greetings.

"There goes the baker with his tray like always. The same old bread and rolls to sell. Every morning just the same, since the morning that we came to this quaint English town."

As he passed the baker's shop, the large baker stuck his tattooed bald head out a window to shout out to him.

"Good morning, Ciel!"

"Morning sir," was his reply.

"Where're you off to?"

"The music shop. I just finished playing the most wonderful song, with all these articulations and a del segnos and a-"

"Now that's nice," the baker cut in and returned his head inside his shop. "Wendy! The baguettes! Hurry up!"

Ciel just simply shrugged it off and continued to his destination with a bounce in his step and humming a tune, oblivious to the townsfolk around him.

"Look, there he goes that boy is strange, no question. Dazed and distracted can't you tell?"

"Never part of any crowd."

"Cuz his head's up on some cloud."

"No denying he's a funny boy that Ciel."

The music shop was just within Ciel's sights, and, being excited to get there, quickened his pace through the bustling street.

"Hello!"

"Good day!"

"How is your family?"

"Good morning!"

"Good day."

"How is your wife?"

"I need six eggs!"

"That's too expensive!"

The blue-eyed preteenager shook his head at their simplicity as he opened the door to the music shop. "There must be more than this city life."

"Ah, Ciel!" The long-haired shopkeeper greeted.

"Good morning," replied Ciel, handing him the folder. "I've come to return the piece I borrowed."

"Finished already?"

"Oh, I couldn't put my violin down! Have you got anything new?"

The Undertaker had to chuckle at the boy's eagerness. "Not since yesterday."

"That's alright," said Ciel, leafing through the piles of music folder. "I'll borrow...this one!"

"That one?" the Undertaker questioned. "But you've borrowed it at least six times!"

"Well it's my favorite!" he exclaimed. "Intense dynamics, beautiful chords, I'm telling you, this melody is divine!"

"Well if you like it all that much, it's yours."

"But sir!" Ciel protested.

"I insist!" smiled the Undertaker, leading him to the door.

"Well thank you," the boy babbled, "thank you very much!"

He practically skipped down the street, drawing even more attention than usual.

"Look there he hoes that boy is so peculiar. I wonder if he's feeling well."

"With a dreamy far-off look."

"And always humming a tune."

"What a puzzle to the rest of us is Ciel!"

In the heart of the town, there stood a beautiful fountain. It was built by cementing smooth stones of all colors together. The fountain was a gathering place in the summer for children. They would splash water on each other until the nearby adults would shoo them away with a scolding. Today, though, the only ones there were a few crows. Ciel say down among them and they all scattered except for one, who just eyed him with its beady eyes. The preteen eagerly opened the music folder to run his eyes over the familiar notes.

"Now isn't this amazing, it's my favorite part because you'll see. Here's where the melody changes into the harmony, but there's that tricky part here in measure three." Ciel closed the folder and left the peaceful fountain, emerging back into the hustle and bustle.

"Now it's no wonder that his name means 'heavenly.' He looks just like an angel."

"But behind that fair facade, I'm afraid he's rather odd. Very different from the rest of us."

"He's nothing like the rest of us. Yes different from the rest of us us Ciel!"

The blue-eyed boy passed the town's pub, Shaking Hands, without a glance. Inside, the town's biggest womanizer was signing a work contract with a young teen. At a glance, she could and was commonly mistaken for a boy, but further inspection revealed that she was, in fact, a girl. She signed the paper and handed it and the pen back to the young man across from her. He gave her a charming smile and the teen left blushing. Brushing a strand of blond hair out of his eyes, the man leaned back on his chair while fingering the new contract.

"Wow, you are really good at recruiting aren't you Viscount?" praised a woman with black hair down to her waist. "You've snared everyone you've put your sights on."

"I know," he drawled."

"But the boss still needs someone who will bring in a bunch of customers. That girl wasn't ugly, but she won't satisfy the boss, no matter what we can find in her to use."

"It's true, Ranmao, and I've got my sights set on that one," Viscount said, gesturing to the blue-haired teen.

"Tanaka's boy?"

"He's the one. The boy that's going to make this place very rich."

"But he's-" Ranmao protested.

"The most beautiful boy in town."

"I know, but-"

"That makes him the best," Viscount articulated. "And surely I can persuade the best."

"Well of course, I mean you can, but don't you think that-"

"Right from the moment when I met him, saw him," the womanizer reminisced, "I said 'He's gorgeous' and I fell. Here in town there's only Ciel, who is as beautiful as me. So I'm making plans to make Ciel mine."

Viscount hurried towards the door, passing the pubs three best "waitresses;" two red-heads and a dark haired girl.

"Look there he goes. Isn't he dreamy? Sir Viscount-oh he's so cute! Be still my heart, I"m hardly breathing."

"He's such a tall, young, charming, and handsome man!"

The bachelor burst through the tavern doors and searched frantically for his prize. Finally, he spotted that head of blue hair-in the middle of the crowd.

"Hello!"

"Pardon."

"Good day."

"Mais oui!"

"You call this bacon?"

"What lovely grapes!"

"Some cheese?"

"Ten yards!"

"One pound."  
"Excuse me-" Viscount called.

"I'll get the knife."

"-please let me through!"

"This bread,"

"Those fish,"

"it's stale."

"they smell."

"Madam's mistaken."

"Well maybe so!"

Ciel managed to break off from the crowd without too much trouble to where he could finally breathe without smelling those around him.

"There must be more than this city life!"

Viscount, still stuck part way in the mass of people, exclaimed, "Just watch I'm going to make Ciel mine!"

"Look there he goes that boy is strange but special. A most peculiar young lad. It's a beauty and a sin. He doesn't quite fit in. Cuz he really is a funny boy, a beauty but a funny boy. He really is a funny boy-that Ciel!"

"Hello!"

"Good day!"

"Bye!"

"Good morning!"

"Hi!

"Good bye!"

Ciel, sensing eyes looking at him, turned to look but only saw the townsfolk going about their business. He shrugged, then proceeded towards the town's tea shop and home. The youth looked at the music in his hands, running the tune through his mind. However, a winded figure appeared in front of him, blocking his path.

"Good morning Ciel!" chimed the tall blond.

"Hello Viscount," the boy replied politely. He slipped the sheet of music into the folder in a way Ciel hoped was indiscreet, but the motion caught Viscount's attention.

"What's this?" he inquired, snatching the folder from the blue-haired boy.

"Ah!" Ciel exclaimed, trying to get his prize back. "That's nothing, just a song the music shop owner gave me." Upon confirming this with a glance at the splotches of ink, the folder was dropped unceremoniously onto the street.

"Pfft, really Ciel, when are you going to stop playing with your violet-"

"Violin," Ciel corrected while dusting off the music folder with great care.

"Violin, and make a living for yourself?"

"Tanaka and I have the tea shop."

"Yes, but that doesn't get a lot of business as it is. I'll tell you what, why don't you come work with me at the bar?"

Ciel, too absorbed in the music, hadn't been listening to Viscount's proposal. "Sorry, what was that?"

Viscount sighed, "I said, why don't you-"

The bell rang throughout the town, signaling that there was only one hour before noon.

"Oh!" exclaimed Ciel. "Sorry Viscount, I have to go. I promised Tanaka I'd be home before eleven to help run the shop." With that, the boy rushed off towards home hugging the folder, leaving Viscount in the street.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Ciel burst through the door and a soft bell above chimed, announcing his arrival. He hurried up a small flight of stairs to his room, carefully stashed away his folder of music, and was back down in the shop before the bell's ringing had ceased. The teen found Tanaka in the back room, heating water for that day's tea.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, grabbing a white apron and tying it around his neck. "I got held up by Viscount on my way home."

"Ho ho ho. Viscount's attempts to snag your attention are starting to occur more frequently, Ciel. He definitely has his eye on you."

"Oh, he just wants me to work at that stupid bar."

"You're almost sixteen, so I suppose people expect you to begin an apprenticeship soon. I'm just surprised that Viscount is the only one vying for your attention."

"That's probably because no one wants to compete against that player."

The old man chuckled. "I suppose you're right. I think I just heard the bell ring. Time for work!"

Ciel ventured out into the shop to see one of their usual customers, a tall lanky man with short cropped hair. "Ah, Ciel!" he smiled.

"Good morning Mr. Dagger." Ciel welcomed politely. "Would you like a seat or did you want a box of tea?"

"I believe I'll stay for a while," the light-haired man said, sitting himself down at the window. "And I think I'll have one of today's specials as well. What are they?"

"Peach and apricot."

"Peach please."

Ciel passed the next few hours taking orders and serving the customers their shop managed to reel in. Occasionally, the teen gave Tanaka a hand in the back when the shop was empty. In the middle of the afternoon, Tanaka called Ciel to the back.

"Is something wrong Tanaka?"

"Don't worry Ciel, everything's fine. I just wanted to tell you that I'll be leaving the shop to you for a few days while I'm gone."

"You're leaving?"

"Just to Charlotte for business."

"Business?"

"Yeah. A friend of mine told me about a new kind of tea, so I want to check it out for myself." Tanaka grabbed his coat and tossed it over his shoulders.

"Be careful!" Ciel called as his guardian started on the road leading north towards Charlotte. As soon as Ciel closed the door, Tanaka doubled back to go through the town on the east side, opposite from the tea shop. On his way to the southern edge of town, the old man passed the Shaking Hands bar.

Inside, Viscount was plotting to get Ciel to work at the bar. He glanced out to see Ciel's guardian, Tanaka, leaving town alone. "I wonder where he's going." Tanaka rarely left the shop, using his health as an excuse, so him leaving without Ciel seemed nearly improbable. "Who'd have though that that old man would ever leave that boy alone. Wait. Ciel's in the shop. Alone. At last! I can finally carry out my plan and make Ciel mine!"

Outside, Tanaka was already at the bridge that separated the town from the forest. "Forgive me, Ciel, for deceiving you. I only hope I can return to tell you the truth." The trees along the road stretched on for miles, almost like a tall fence, keeping the people out of the forest and keeping the creatures in. Tanaka kept an eye out for the telltale boulder that sat between the main road and a back road. When he didn't see it for a few miles, the man thought that perhaps he had missed it. But then he saw it up on the left.

Tanaka quickened his pace, but when he arrived at the big rock, he didn't see the back road. Where it should have began, a tall pine tree had fallen over, and now leaned against another tree, its branches creating a long curtain. The man ducked under the branches and found the road concealed behind the tree. "Was this your doing?" he asked no one in particular and continued on his way.

The back road was harder to travel on than the main road because it was overgrown with weeds, branches, and rocks from disuse. Tanaka guessed that it hadn't been used since that fateful night fifteen years before. He was slowed down greatly by the debris wouldn't give up. He couldn't, for Ciel's sake.

xXxXxXx

Ciel said farewell to the last customer and locked the door for the night. After making sure that the back door was also locked, the boy ascended to his room. He got on his hands and knees to pull out a ragged wooden box. Despite its haggard appearance, it held Ciel's greatest treasure. He opened it and pulled out his violin. Unlike its container, the instrument was of the highest quality. The wood didn't have a single splinter and the bow didn't show any signs of age, which was surprising since Ciel played it often. Holding his violin and bow with one hand, Ciel spread out his sheet music on his bed with the other. Then, he placed the bow in position and began to play.

He drew the bow across the strings slowly at first, and with great care. The notes seemed mournful in the air. Then, suddenly they sped up into a brisk pace before slowing down. For the remainder of the song, the teen played the piece, with all of its sudden dynamic changes. At times his arm was a blur, others, it barely moved. Ciel closed his eyes, he knew the music so well, and swayed to the beat. It was when he played his violin that he felt truly happy, with the notes surrounding him in a warm, musical blanket.

The sun set and night fell, but the boy played long after his arm started to burn. Even though he could no longer see or remember the notes to play them, Ciel played on, this time, to his own melody.

xXxXxXx

Tanaka pulled his foot out from under the root it had become stuck in. Looking up, he saw his destination, a gigantic manor. In the almost completely inky blackness, the man could see the colossal trees that flanked it. They rose up from the ground, kind of like dark wings. Tanaka, exhausted from the long trip, sat himself down next to a tree and leaned against it. As much as he didn't want to spend the night out in the forest, the alternative was going into that mansion weak and hungry.

He chose to rough it in the forest.

"Young master, that which belongs to you will be yours once again." With that, the old man's body slumped into an uneasy slumber as the remaining light disappeared to be replaced by treacherous darkness.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A tall dark man stood at the huge window in his study. With pale hands clasped firmly behind him, he peered out through the glass. It would rain soon, no doubt about it, not storm, but enough to cause the creatures of the surrounding woods to seek shelter. It was quiet, peaceful.

It pissed him off.

Grabbing the nearest object, which happened to be an empty inkwell, the man flung it at the ground, smashing it to bits.

"Maylene!" he roared loud enough to make everything rattle with the force.

A red-haired woman burst into the room, her ever-present feather duster in hand. "Y-yes Master?" she quivered.

"Clean up that mess."

"Yes sir!" she bent to the ground, frantically sweeping up the shards, and desperately trying to ignore her master's shadow as it shifted, two large blobs growing from the core.

The man turned to sulk at his desk, but something outside caught his attention. Shifting his gaze back to the window, he noticed a slight movement from the base of a tree. It looked like a piece of fabric flapping in the gentle pre-rain wind. A devilish smirk came over his face. His anger faded rather quickly, and his shadow returned to a normal shape.

"Maylene," he said, gentler this time.

She jumped at the sudden calmness in his voice, and almost dropped the freshly swept up glass. "Y-yes M-master?"

"Tell Finny to let Pluto out. There's a little rat out there. Bring it in. Alive."

Maylene nodded and scampered out of the room. The man turned back to watch the scene unfold with glowing red eyes.

xXxXxXx

Tanaka was aroused from fitful sleep by cold drops on his face. Blinking sleepily, he rubbed his eyes. More chilling drops of rain hit him, absorbing themselves into his clothes. Before Tanaka could look for a place to stay out of the rain, besides the dark manor, a shadow loomed above him. Turning, he saw a gigantic gray dog. Its eyes glowed red and its mouth hung open to reveal long, sharp canines. Tanaka tried to scramble to his feet, but the hound snapped its head forward, catching his coat in its mighty jaws.

The dog trotted to the manor with its catch dangling ten feet above the ground. Tanaka was too tired and sore to even attempt to free himself from the beast, so he allowed himself to be carried off towards the intimidating building. His bare skin stung from where the rain pelted his skin and the howling wind wrenching his remaining body heat from him.

Tanaka was suddenly released from the canine's mouth, signaling their arrival at the doors of the manor. Brushing himself off, the old man looked back to see the dog sitting on its haunches, tail wagging and pink tongue hanging out. He reluctantly opened the great black doors that led from the jaws of the beast into the lair of an even scarier beast.

Inside, the hall was dimly lit by grim-looking candles. The flickering light cast shifting shadows all over the expensively painted walls. Tanaka shuffled down the long corridor, expecting the dark creature that inhabited the place to sneak up on him at any moment. Up ahead, he saw two figures striding towards him.

"Welcome sir," punctuated a slim man in a suit. He smoothed back his jet black hair and pushed his slipping glasses farther up his nose. "My master will be-"

"Oh, cut the formal speech, William," a man with short hair and a white coat groaned. Tanaka shuddered, both from being soaked in cold rain and the mention of the man he was dreading to see. "Can't you see he's cold and tired? Please come this way sir, we'll have you warmed up in no time." The blond grabbed Tanaka's arm and led him down an adjacent hall.

"But Bard! The master's direct orders were to-"

"I know what the bloody orders were, but the master wouldn't be too pleased if our guest froze, now would he?"

They entered a smaller room. It had only one chair, which was perched right in front of a roaring fireplace. Tanaka broke free from the man's grip and settled down into the plush chair, already feeling the fire's warmth seeping into his chilled bones.

"Oh, the master isn't going to be pleased, not at all. His direct orders were to..." the man in the suit rambled off and muttered things under his breath while Bard tried to make the old man comfortable in any way he could.

"How about some tea, sir?" As if on cue, a man with long dark unruly locks entered, pushing a beautiful silver teacart.

"Thank you very much," Tanaka breathed, momentarily forgetting his impending peril.

"Here you are sir!" chimed a short blond-haired young man with a straw hat, handing the old man a cup of nice hot tea.

Before he could take a sip, the doors burst open, and the fireplace went out. In strode a man dressed in all black. He was just as Tanaka remembered, dark and merciless.

"What is he doing in here?" he ground out through grit teeth.

"Well, you see master," Bard tried to explain, "he was wet and cold, and I thought-"

"I gave you direct orders! None of which included inviting him in past the reception room!"

"That's exactly what I told them sir," William added, "I told them, I said-" The man was given a vicious glare and that shut him up. All of the servants cowered in the corner as they watched their master's shape disfigure.

Tanaka suddenly wished he hadn't come there after all. In all those years, the man had changed, but for the worse. He was even less merciful then before as he grabbed Tanaka by his collar and dragged him down the hallway into the dark, dank dungeon.

xXxXxXx

A bright ray of light shot through Ciel's window and right into his eye. He groaned at being awoken in such a cruel way. Yawning, he stretched like a cat and got dressed for the day. Seeing the sheets of music still spread out on his bed from the night before, he quickly stored them away before heading downstairs to make something for breakfast.

The teen was debating whether he wanted eggs or oatmeal when a knock sounded on the shop door. "Who could that be? It's not even close to opening time." He headed towards the door and emitted an audible groan when he saw a certain _persistent_ blond standing on the front porch. Blue eyes rolling, Ciel opened the door and put on a polite smile.

"Why, what a pleasant surprise, Viscount."

"I thought you would think so, Ciel," the man responded, letting himself in. "I saw that Tanaka was headed south towards Grimsby yesterday afternoon and figured I should pay you a visit so you wouldn't get lonely."

"How nice of you, but it really wasn't necessary-wait, south?" Ciel exclaimed.

"Yes, just before dinnertime, but enough about that. Today I'm going to make all of your dreams come true! You see, we're going to open up a new Shaking Hands bar in a bigger city, a few days journey from here. New people and food, isn't that exciting?"

"You're moving?" Ciel questioned, a bit surprised.

"Why yes, just expanding the business a bit. So what do you think about moving with us to be our newest addition?" He crept towards the boy and backed him up to the door, using all of his womanizing charms. Ciel fumbled for the doorknob and waited for his chance.

"Well, I'm simply flattered, but I really don't think I'm what you're looking for."

"Of course you are! With your pretty face, you'll be sure to draw in loads of...customers."

Twisted the knob and sidestepped the blond. Viscount stumbled out the door and face-first into a fresh puddle of mud created from the rain the might before. Ciel quickly shut and locked the door, sighing a sigh of relief.

"Woo, he's gone," he said to no one in particular. "Can you imagine, he wants me to work for him. Me!Being under the boot of that self-loving, perverted...Sir Viscount-can't you just see it? Sir Viscount, how may I serve you? No sir, not me. I guarantee it. I want much more than this city life." Ciel closed his eyes and pictured himself playing his violin for a crowd of people who loved the art. "I want to play in a great hall somewhere. I want it more than I can tell. And for once it might be grand to have someone understand that I want so much more than they've got planned."

Ciel went about his daily chores, but he couldn't get Viscount's words out of his head. _"Headed south to Grimsby."_ Viscount probably wasn't smart enough to lie effectively to Ciel, but if he was telling the truth, that meant that Tanaka had lied to him. Why would he? Tanaka had no reason to...did he.

By mid-afternoon, the boy had ran those words through his head so many times he thought he was going crazy. Finally, he put up the "closed" sign on the front door and set off for the south to find Tanaka. He would find out where he went, why, and why he couldn't tell Ciel.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ciel spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering down the southern road, looking for any signs that Tanaka had passed through there. However, the rain from the previous night would have washed away any tracks. Not to mention the resulting mud made the trek very messy.

The boy sat himself down by a tree that had keeled over at the side of the road. He pulled out a sandwich he had assembled quickly before departing. At the wonderful smell of bread and cheese, Ciel's stomach roared quite ferociously. As he sank his teeth into the slightly squished food, he recalled that he had been distracted from making breakfast that morning by a certain blond, and, as a result, he had forgotten to eat.

Ciel hadn't found any signs of Tanaka and faced a troubling dilemma. He could either keep searching for the old man and most likely end up spending the night out in the forest, or he could turn back and return to the town as night fell.

Ciel licked the crumbs from his lips and prepared himself for the long journey back, when he spotted something peculiar. Several branches on the felled tree were broken, as though something or someone had pushed their way through. The teen crawled under said tree branches, brushing the pine needles from his dark hair as he stood up. Looking at the ground, he saw various small sticks that were broken, along with squashed vegetation. The path of flattened forest debris led straight away from the road and deeper into the forest.

"Tanaka," Ciel murmured, and began making his way further into the depths of the forest and farther away from civilization.

xXxXxXx

Two hours later, Ciel was tired and hungry. It was very time and energy consuming to pick his way through the wild undergrowth. More than once, he had to stop to free himself from a particularly long weed that had somehow tangled itself around his foot.

Ciel was beginning to get creeped out by the forest. The amount of light that somehow found its way through the dense treetops was lessening, and the forest's shadows were starting to play tricks on his eyes. He tried to keep up a brisk pace because whenever he began to slow down from fatigue, roots seemed to reach up to grab a hold of his legs, tripping and catching him in their gnarled grip.

Soon, it became too dark for Ciel to see the path he was following, so the boy was left to scramble on his own. He finally broke through the trees into a clearing. Rejoicing silently, Ciel didn't see the sudden dip in the ground and tripped, falling flat on his face. Too fatigued to get up, Ciel allowed himself to just lay there. The cool grass was still wet from the rain, and it eagerly attached itself to the teen's clothes, dampening them slightly. He closed his eyes and breathed in a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

His eyes snapped open at the cry of a bird. Looking up, Ciel saw a dark crow, perched upon a rock. It eyed hi with its cold stare and he let his gaze slip behind the bird to see a gigantic manor. The boy forced himself to his feet, his pace a little quicker now that he finally had a destination.

He stood in front of the towering building, the blue-eyed human felt a strange sense of deja vu. Shrugging the feeling off, he heaved one of the cold wooden doors open. Slipping inside, he let his eyes adjust to the lighting. It was hard to see much in the dim candlelight, but Ciel could make out a great empty hall. There was a single door on the walls adjacent to the front door. Directly across the vast space, a majestic set of stairs led straight up and broke off to the left and right. Pillars stood on each side of the stairs like tall guards.

To the right, he saw a flicker of movement, like a piece of fabric.

"Hello?" Ciel called, following the movement down the cold stone stairs. "I'm looking for my father. I heard that he went down the southern road and I found evidence that someone came this way, so I was wondering if he came here."

Bard, William, and Finny peered out from a pillar at the retreating boy.

"It's a boy!" cried Finny.

"Indeed," replied Bard.

"Do you think he could be _the_ boy?"

"Impossible," stated William, pushing up his glasses. "Surely the man would have taken the child and retreated as far away from this place as he could."

"But time is drawing to a close, and that boy could be the one," the pyromaniac argued.

Finny left the bickering men to the kitchen to report the news.

xXxXxXx

Ciel followed the stone steps down into what he assumed was the basement. _Or dungeon._ The dank room chilled him to the bone, making him shiver more from his damp clothes. There were a few candles that lined the walls on either side of him, casting a dirty glow on the walls and floor. He spotted a door up ahead and raced to it. It had a low window, about three feet above the ground. The boy looked inside and gasped at what he saw.

"Ho ho ho."

Behind the door was a little room and on the floor sat Tanaka. He was holding a broken cup and sipping from it. That was the best part of the whole situation. His clothes were dirty and, by the looks of it, wetter than Ciel's. The old man's face was pale and his eyes looked bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept.

"Tanaka? How did you get in there? And where did you get that tea?" Ciel questioned.

"You know I always carry my own tea on me at all times, Ciel."

"That still doesn't explain how you got in there!"

"Ah. That." Tanaka paused for a moment, then suddenly, a look came over his face as he came back to reality and the current situation. "Ciel, you must leave now, quickly, before he finds you."

"Who?"

"What are you doing here?" questioned a man fiercely. He approached the boy, his dark eyes boring into the human's blue ones. The man was tall and slim, with jet black hair that fell around his face.

"Why have you locked him up?" Ciel asked back.

"He's my prisoner."

Tanaka sneezed from behind the door.

"But he's sick! He'll die if he's not let out of there!"

"So be it!" thundered the dark man. Ciel flinched at his harsh words.

"No! I won't let you hurt him!" The boy flung himself at the man and slapped him across the face. A tinge of red barely began to show before all the candles, except the one closest to Ciel, blew out. He looked around for the man desperately, fearing a action of retaliation.

"Ciel, run now!" Tanaka rasped.

But he was glued to the spot as he felt the air around him grow colder. "You dare?" came a voice in front of him, but Ciel couldn't see the man, all he saw was black. Ciel felt himself be shoved up against the wall by a strong hand. The man held him a foot or two off the ground by his shirt collar. His head was forced back, so he couldn't see his attacker.

"I will deal with you, and then have your precious "Tanaka" for dessert."

Ciel put both of his small hands on the man's one and tried to loosen his grip on the boy's shirt, but it was fruitless. The man leaned in toward the human, ready to end his life in one quick move, but something caught his attention. Holding the boy by his shirt had pulled up the fabric, revealing a familiar mark on his side. Snarling with disgust, the man dropped the child to the floor and retreated back into the darkness. Tanaka let loose another sneeze.

"Please," Ciel begged, "let him go. He's the only family I have."

He contemplated for a moment before answering. "On one condition."

"Anything."

"You stay here in his stead."

"No Ciel!" cried Tanaka.

"Step into the light," he challenged.

The man obliged, sliding into the dirty light. He looked the same as before, and Ciel had no idea why he felt the air growing colder.

"Yes," he whispered.

In a flash, the door to his right was opened and Tanaka pulled out. The dark man dragged the old one up the stairs mercilessly, slamming the basement door behind him, leaving Ciel alone. Then, he opened the front door and whistled. The giant dog from before came and sat in front of its master.

"Take him to the village," ordered the man, plunking Tanaka on the ground. Without hesitation, the canine picked up the human as it had done the night before and raced off into the forest.

When he returned to the basement, he found Ciel shaking, both from the damp cold and fury.

"You didn't let me say goodbye!" he screamed at the man. "He's the only family I've ever known and you sent him away without a word!"

The man felt a small pang of guilt. After all, the child had agreed to stay, and he didn't even know what his captor really was. "Come this way, I'll show you to your room."

"What?" the boy faltered. "But I thought-"

"If you would rather stay down here and freeze, you're welcome to it."

"No."

"Then, this way."

He guided the boy up to the ground floor, and then up to the second floor. The man tried to make the child more comfortable by starting up conversation. "While you live here, you're welcome to any of the rooms for your amusement. Except the far East rooms."

"What's there?" inquired Ciel.

"Nothing," he snapped and the boy fell silent again. Finally, they stopped in front of a finely made door. "This will serve as your room," the dark-eyed man said, gently pushing the boy through. "I'll leave you to get settled in."

When the door closed, Ciel fell to the floor, hitting the wood until his knuckles bled. Exhausted from worry and his trip, he slumped to the floor, letting unconsciousness overtake him.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sebastian closed the door to his study quietly and placed his right hand over his left. Feeling for the ring on his left middle finger, the man closed his eyes. A scene unfolded under his eyelids. The boy was apparently trying to pummel the floor to death with his fists. Sebastian removed his hand from the ring and opened his eyes. He had truly messed up; the boy hated him.

He was distracted by a knock at his door. "Enter."

In came Bard and William. Bard looked hopeful, the latter rather doubtful.

"Excuse the interruption, master, but I was hoping you would listen to a simple suggestion to help win over our new guest," said Bard.

This struck his interest, anything to undo the damage he had already done. "Go on."

"Well, I was thinking that perhaps a nice dinner would give you a chance to break the ice with the boy."

Sebastian pondered the idea for a moment before complying. "Good idea, Bard. William, inform the boy that he will be having dinner with me very soon." He held up his hand when the servant showed signs of interrupting. "And escort him down. You are both dismissed."

xXxXxXx

Ciel felt someone poking him, and opened his eyes.

"See, Soma?" said a blond-haired young man. "I _told_ you there was a boy here!"

A dark haired man with tanned skin and very bright clothing looked him over, as if checking to see if he was real. "Indeed you did, Finny."

Ciel was just going to ask who they were when someone knocked at the door. It opened to reveal a man in a dark suit and neatly combed-back hair. He pushed up his glasses before speaking.

"I am here to inform you that you are to attend dinner with the master very shortly. I will escort you down once I return from checking on the progress in the kitchen." With that, he turned and left, taking the two men with him.

Suddenly, Ciel was yanked off the floor by an energetic girl with long blond hair. "Come on! We can't have you going to dinner looking like that. It's totally not cute!" She began rummaging through the closet, pulling out different outfits and throwing each one back. Finally, she settled on a white shirt with a dark blue jacket and matching pants. "How about this?"

"I'm not going."

The girl dropped the articles of clothing in her hands. "Why not?"

"I hate him."

"But shouldn't you at least give a him chance?" she tried.

"No," Ciel refused stubbornly. "He sent Tanaka away without letting me say good-bye. He can go to hell for all I care."

She sat next to Ciel on the bed. "Come on, he's not that bad once you get to know him," she soothed.

"I don't want to get to know him."

Another knock sounded at the door and if walked the man from before. "Lizzy, couldn't you find something better than that? Anyway, dinner's ready and I'm here to escort you down, master Ciel."

xXxXxXx

Sebastian paced back and forth, practically wearing a hole in the expensive carpet. Yes he was nervous about the advancing dinner. He only had one chance and if he messed up with the boy any more, it would be impossible to break the curse. His servants tried to calm his worries by bombarding him with advice.

"Greet him when he comes in," suggested Soma.

"Smile, but not so big as to creep him out," ordered Bard.

"Be polite."

"Sincere."

"Show some genuine remorse for your earlier behavior."

"But most of all," they both chimed, "you must control your temper!"

The door creaked open and Sebastian turned to greet Ciel, but instead, saw a nervous William.

"Well?" questioned Sebastian.

"Ah, well," he stammered, fidgeting.

"Don't lie to me, William."

"He's not coming."

"WHAT?"

In a blur of black, Sebastian whipped up the stairs and down the hall to Ciel's room, his form in the beginning stages of transformation. Bard and William raced after him, hoping to pacify him before too much damage was done.

Ciel nearly jumped out of his skin when the door was pounded on quite loudly.

"Why won't you come down to dinner?" snarled Sebastian through the door.

"I'm not hungry," the boy stated matter-of-factly.

Sebastian turned on his servants, eyes glowing. "What am I supposed to do now?" he hissed through grit teeth. "He's being so stubborn."

"Ask politely if he would join you for dinner," guided Bard. "Perhaps he is upset that you didn't invite him yourself."

"Would you be so kind to join me for dinner," Sebastian mustered, the glow starting to fade. Bard whispered something in his ear.

"Please."

"No."

Sebastian snapped. "Well then you can just STARVE!" He turned to a quivering Bard and William. "If he doesn't eat with me, then he doesn't eat at all."

"Go to hell!" shouted Ciel.

With a roar, Sebastian's disfigured shape disappeared down the corridor, his words rebounding off the walls.

Lizzy slipped out of Ciel's room to join Bard and William as they trudged downstairs to inform the cook that dinner was canceled.

Inside, Ciel threw himself on the bed and willed unconsciousness to overtake him.

xXxXxXx

The town was dark, except for the Shaking Hands bar. It was lit up like a firework, and just as noisy. The bartender mixed and served drinks, his long dark red hair pulled up and away from his face.

The only quiet spot was a booth in the back corner. There, Viscount sulked with an empty mug in his hand.

"Who does he think he is? That boy has tangled with the wrong man! No one says no to Viscount!"

"Darn right," commented Ranmao.

"Dismissed, rejected, publicly humiliated! Why it's more than I can bear."

"More beer?" she comforted.

"What for? Nothing helps. I'm disgraced."

"Who? You? Never." A quick nod from a hooded figure kept her going. "Viscount, you've got to pull yourself together."

She pulled at his arm, but it slumped back into place.

"Gosh it disturbs me to see you, Viscount, looking so down in the dumps. Every guy here'd love to be you, Viscount, even when taking your lumps. There's no guy in town as admired as you, you're everyone's favorite guy. Everyone's awed and inspired by you, and it's not very hard to see why."

Viscount cracked an eye open, suddenly interested.

"No one's slick as Viscount, no one's quick as Viscount. No one's got a knack for flattery like Viscount. For there's no man in town half as handsome, perfect, a pure paragon. You can ask any parent in town here. And they'll tell you which man they want their daughters to wed."

Hearing the song, a bunch of other people in the tavern joined in.

"No one's king like Viscount or can think like Viscount."

"No one's got a set of dimples like Viscount," added Ranmao.

Viscount felt the need to add his own praise for himself. "As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating."

"My what a guy that Viscount!"

The men at the bar started up a chant, beating their mugs on the counter to the beat.

"Give five hurrahs! Give twelve hip-hips!"

"Viscount is the best and the rest are all drips!"

"No one looks like Viscount, steals those chicks like Viscount."

"In the city street no one catches eyes like Viscount."

Beast, Red, and Grell swooned around the blond. "For there's no one as cute and handsome."

"As you see I'm good-looking enough for us all."

"Not a bit of him's ugly or unsightly."

"That's right! And every last inch of me's baby skin smooth."

"No one flatters like Viscount."

"Convinces like Viscount."

"In a debate no one speaks like Viscount."

"I'm specially good at B. .

"Ten points for Viscount!"

Viscount picked up a small hand mirror that was hidden under the counter. "When I was a lad, I flossed my teeth four times a day, every day to keep them clean. And now that I'm grown, I do it five times a day, so they outshine the sun!"

"No one's cute as Viscount, makes the girls swoon like Viscount."

"Then goes around giving out pictures like Viscount."

"I use self-portraits in all of my decorating."

"Say it again. Who's our man among men? And then say it once more. Who's our playboy next door? Who's a super success, don't you know, can't you guess? Ask his fans and his five hangers-on. There's just one guy in town who's got all of it down."

"Viscount!"

The picture-perfect moment was broken as the tavern door slammed open. In stumbled Tanaka, his clothes dirty and tattered. His hair was askew and his eyes were alarmed.

"Please, someone help he!"

"Tanaka?" asked someone.

"Please, please, I need your help. He's got him, he's got him locked in the dungeon!"

"Who?"

"Ciel! We must go, not a minute to lose!"

"Woah, slow down Tanaka," calmed Viscount, striding towards the distraught old man. "Who's got Ciel locked in a dungeon?"

"A demon! A horrible, cruel demon! I should have told you a long time ago, but..."

No one really listened as the old man continued to rant and rave about the supposed demon. A few snickered at him.

"Is it a dark demon?" questioned one.

"Yes."

"With long, black wings?"

"Terribly so."

"And sharp, deadly fangs?"

"Yes, yes. Will you help me?"

"Alright old man," announced Viscount. "We'll help you out."

"You will?" he replied, astonished. Two men gripped him under the arms and hauled him to the door. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you-" With one movement, they threw him out onto the street and closed the door, shaking their heads.

"Crazy old Tanaka."

"He's always good for a laugh."

Viscount took a moment to consider their words. "Crazy old Tanaka, hm? Crazy old Tanaka...hm. Ranmao I'm afraid I've been thinking."

"A dangerous pastime-"

"I know. But that wacky old coot is like Ciel's father, and his sanity's only so-so. Now the wheels in my head have been turning, since I looked at that loony old man. See I promised the boss I'd get Ciel, and right now I'm evolving a plan!"

He pulled Ranmao close and whispered in her ear.

"If I..."

"Yes."

"Then we..."

"No! Would he?"

"...Guess."

"Now I get it! Let's go!"

"No one plots like Viscount."

"Takes cheap shots like Viscount."

"Plans to persecute harmless crackpots like Viscount!"

The rest of the bar joined in once again. "So a new addition to the bar we soon will be celebrating. My what a guy, Viscount!"

Outside, Tanaka stumbled about in the strong wind. "Won't anybody help me?"

xXxXxXx

After trying to sleep for too long, Ciel gave up when his stomach complained quite loudly. Despite his earlier actions, he was hungry. The only thing he'd had to eat that day was a squashed sandwich. He slid off the bed and opened the bedroom door. After a quick glance left and right, he slipped out the door to find himself something to eat.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

In the kitchen, Bard and William tried to calm down the excited cook. "Look at this!" cried the tall man, gesturing to platters of untouched food. "All my hard work-wasted!" His tanned skin hid his flush of anger well and his short hair hair almost stood up on end. "What a disaster!"

"Indeed," agreed William, pushing up his glasses. "At this rate, the master will never be able to-"

"Ciel!" interrupted Bard, waving to the dark-haired boy who had just slipped in through the door. "What brings you out here at this time?"

"I was just looking for something to eat."

"Did you hear that?" chimed Bard. "The boy's hungry. Agni, you needn't worry, we have a mouth to feed!"

"But the master said that-" started William.

"Well, we can't just let him starve, now can we?" the blond man replied.

"Fine, just some bread and-"

"You insult me, William! He must get a meal worthy of a king! Come, this way to the dining room, master Ciel!" Bard grabbed Ciel's arm and led him through a side door to the dining room. It was large, with a long table and many simple, but elegant chairs. The boy was left alone and he sat down, feeling rather uncomfortable at the prospect of having people serve him.

Bard appeared before him, bowing. "I believe the kitchen staff is ready, so without further ado, the dining room proudly presents-your dinner."

"Be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test. Tie your napkin 'round your neck, young sir, and we'll provide the rest. Poached salmon, mint salad, why we only live to serve. Try the Grey tea, it's delicious! Don't believe me? Ask the kitchen! We can sing, we can dance. After all, sir, this is the house of Michaelis and a dinner here is never second best! Go on unfold your menu, take a glance and then you'll be our guest, yes our guest, be our guest!"

"Beef Tataki-don or Donburi, pie and pudding enflambe. We'll prepare and serve with flare a culinary cabaret. You're alone and you're scared, but the banquet's all prepared. No one's gloomy or complaining, see the flatware's shining! We tell jokes, I do tricks with my handy flamethrower."

"And it's all in perfect taste that you can bet!"

"Come on and lift your glass, you've won your own free pass to be our guest."

"If you're stressed, it's fine dining we suggest."

"Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!"

"Life is so unnerving for a servant who's not serving. He's not whole without a soul to wait upon. Ah, those good old days when we were useful. Suddenly those good old days are gone. Over ten years we've been waiting, doing nothing much but dusting. Needing guests to please, a chance to use our skills. Most days we just lay around the manor-flabby, fat, and lazy, you walked in and opsy-daisy!"

"It's a guest, it's a guest! Sake's alive and I'll be blessed! Wine's a pouring, thank the lord, I've had the napkins freshly pressed. With dessert, he'll want tea, and my dear that's fine with me. While the cups are laid out, I'll get the tea bubbling, I'll get it brewing. I'll get it warm piping hot. Heaven's sakes, is that a spot? Clean it up; we want the company impressed! We've got a lot to do! Is it one lump or two? For you our guest."

"He's our guest."

"He's our guest!"

"Be our guest!"

"Be our guest, be our guest, our command is your request. It's been years since we've had anybody here; and we're obsessed! With your meal, with your ease, yes indeed we aim to please. While the candlelight's still glowing, let us help you, we'll keep going."

"Course by course, one by one. Till you shout 'Enough I'm done!' Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest. Tonight you'll prop your feet up, but for now let's eat up. Be our guest, be our guest. Be our guest, please be our guest!"

Ciel sat back in his chair, stuffed beyond belief. He felt like he could just drift off to sleep right there, but his curiosity kept him awake.

William cleared his throat and pushed up his glasses. "There, now that you have eaten, it's off to bed with you."

"But I'd like to see more of the manor."

"Well, of course!" interjected Bard, before William could say anything about Ciel not being able to see more of the manor. "There's the gallery, library, music room-"

"You have a music room?" interjected the boy.

"Why yes, young master! Oh what the heck, we'll just give you the grand tour. Right this way, young master!"

The blond led the boy out of the room and up the stairs. William followed next to Bard, joining him in pointing out the manor's various historical, artistic, and architectural aspects.

"To your right, you will see the vase that the master received from a friend of a foreign country," showed William.

"On the other side, you can see the sword that Queen Elizabeth I gave the master when she made him an Earl."

"Queen Elizabeth? But she died over two hundred years ago," pointed out Ciel.

"Uh, and over here you can see the lovely-" continued Bard.

"But what about that way?" asked Ciel, pointing behind him.

"Oh, that's the East wing," stated William, pushing up his glasses.

"What's up there?"

"Nothing! Uh, nothing really. Just boring old things like dust and records, nothing of much interest." Bard started up. "Now where was I? Oh yes, the trimwork on these arches was designed by the late. . ."

Neither servant noticed as Ciel slowly backed away from the receding pair and doubled back to the grand staircase. Once there, he made sure that no one else saw him as he entered the East wing. It appeared to be the same as the other wing, at least, at first. But the further Ciel went, the more it changed. Although the physical appearance stayed the same, the feel and air felt different. There were fewer torches lit down there too, because it wasn't well-traveled.

One door caught Ciel's attention. It looked the same as the others, but the boy felt drawn to it somehow. He turned its cold metal knob and slipped inside after a glance up and down the corridor.

The room was fairly large, perhaps a master suite. On the opposite side, a wall of glass showcased the moonlight-illuminated forest. The room was void of any candles or torches; the only light streamed in through the window from the full moon. Long shadows covered the floor and walls. A dark rectangular shape, a desk, sat in front of the window.

Ciel strode to a fine tapestry hanging on the right wall. He brushed it and it gave under his touch. Pulling it aside, the boy revealed an opening into a side room. He stepped inside, letting the fabric fall back into place. The first thing he noticed was a battered old painting. It had couple tears in it, but Ciel could still make out a middle-aged woman and a younger man. The woman wore a fancy dress, and an old one at that. A gold crown sat on top of her head. Ciel guessed that this woman must be a queen based on her attire. The man next to her had on a suit of a similar style with poofy sleeves. However, it was his face that really caught Ciel's attention. It was somewhat pale, like that of a noble who sat inside all day. His face was framed by longish black hair and his eyes seemed to be looking right at the boy. He felt a shiver run down his spine and looked away.

That's when he noticed the second thing.

In the middle of the smaller room sat two big, equal-sized boxes. The wood was stained a deep brown, maybe black. The boxes were longer at one end, shorter at the other. Engraved on the side of the boxes were a date and the initials _R. P._ and _V. P._ Running his fingers over the inscriptions, Ciel saw that there seemed to be a lid on top of each of the boxes. He reached forward to touch the closest one, but a voice behind him made him stop cold.

"What are you doing?"

Ciel whipped around and saw Sebastian standing in the doorway, one hand holding up the tapestry.

"I-uh," Ciel stammered, and sidestepped around the boxes. "I was j-just-"

"I thought I told you," Sebastian articulated, following the boy. "Not to come here."

"I j-just I didn't m-mean any harm, I-"

"Do you know what you could have done?" bellowed the dark man. Ciel cringed and watched in horror as the man's shape began to change. Gone was the tall, slim man from before. In his place stood a tall, black _creature_. The red orbs were his eyes, fire peering out at him. His skin was so pale, but covered by skin-tight clothing. Long fingerless gloves crept down to his hands and his black nails were sharpened into claws. When the creature took a step, its pointy-heeled stilettos clicked on the floor. Two big black wings sprouted from either side to complete the picture.

"Get. Out."

Ciel stood frozen to the spot, unable to move.

"NOW!"

The boy turned heel and sprinted out the little alcove and out of the study. The corridor seemed to stretch for miles, and he was grateful when the staircase came into view. Taking the steps two or three at a time, Ciel half stumbled down them to the huge oak doors. Bard and William saw him and tried to stop him.

"Where are you going, young master?" Bard asked hurriedly.

"Away from here. I can't stay here any longer."

Ciel wrenched open the door and darted out into the night. Even though he ran as fast as he could, he still heard the loud roar that vibrated through the surrounding trees and resonated in the ground. Branches whipped his face and arms as he tore through the forest, trying to put as much distance between the manor and himself. The boy stopped when his lungs burned too badly to continue. Gasping for breath, Ciel froze when he heard a loud caw from above. Looking up, he saw an overgrown crow circling above. Soon, several others joined it, all the while drawing closer to Ciel.

He began running again, this time away from the crows. The boy stumbled off of the overgrown path to make it harder for the birds to see him. When he could no longer hear the sound of flapping wings, Ciel paused and listened. Suddenly, a dark shadow fell over him and the next thing he felt was air brushing past his face from the crow. The force of it knocked him off balance, causing him to fall over. He yelped and cried out as several birds dived at him. Ciel raised his arms in front of him for protection and braced himself for the impending pain.

It never came.

Ciel's eyes snapped open at the sound of a crow cawing loudly. Before him, he saw Sebastian, the deformed Sebastian, fighting off the large birds. Crows disappeared in explosions of black feathers. The boy started to crawl backwards from the scene, but the lord turned at the sound. His glowing blood red eyes froze the human in place. In this moment of distraction, Sebastian didn't see the remaining crow dive at him, talons glinting in the moonlight.

An animalistic scream tore itself from the dark figure's throat as the bird's claws ripped into his arm. With his other arm, Sebastian grabbed the offending animal, and it too disappeared in a miniature explosion of feathers.

Ciel was, needless to say, shocked. The "man" he'd been running from had just saved him from a murder of crows. Black feathers covered the ground and little splotches of crimson surrounded Sebastian. He stood amongst the mess of feathers, clutching his bleeding arm, which was spilling blood. To Ciel's amazement, the dark wings receded into Sebastian's back and he once again resembled a human. As Ciel was going to say something, the man stumbled and fell to his knees. Feeling bad for being the reason that they had ended up in this situation, the boy started towards the man.

"...Sebastian?"

The lord said nothing, but let out a loud whistle that made Ciel cover his ears. As soon as the whistle stopped, the boy tried desperately to stay upright as the ground beneath him started shaking. Moments later, a giant white dog came bounding up to them.

"Woah!" Ciel cried and ran behind Sebastian. The man stood up and staggered over to the beast. He tried to climb on its back, but this task was extremely difficult with an injured arm. Ciel ran forward and helped push the man up onto the canine. Once Sebastian was firmly secured, the dog reached for the boy with its jaws. Ciel cried out as he was thrown into the air. Luckily, he landed right in front of Sebastian. Ciel clung to the animal's fur as it started off back towards the manor.

xXxXxXx

A young man with white hair waited patiently in a small dimly lit room. His client had insisted on as much privacy as possible. The man hoped his client didn't have a rough time finding the place; it was kind of in the middle of nowhere.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

A tall hooded figure entered the room and took the seat across from the white-haired man.

"Would you care for a drink?" offered the light-haired man.

"No thank you, Mr. Ash," the hooded one replied. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get on with business. I'm frightfully busy with the preparations."

"I see. And, what brings you out here?"

"I am in need of a "full time" worker for my business and one of my subordinates has found an excellent candidate. However, this candidate needs some...prodding."

"May I inquire as to who this may be?"

"Ciel Phantomhive."

"The one that lives in that teashop with the old man?" asked Ash.

"The same. But as I said before, he is reluctant. As I'm sure you know, there are some rumors going around about Tanaka's sanity."

"Oh, Tanaka's harmless," chuckled Ash.

"Yes, but if the old man were to end up in your facility, I'm sure that Ciel would do anything to get him out."

"Including working at your "bar." Hm," thought the pale-haired man.

The hooded figure pushed a sack across the table. "Perhaps this will help you make a decision?"

Ash took the bag and opened it, grinning at its contents. "I like the way you do business," he smirked, extending his arm. The other did likewise, sealing their deal.

xXxXxXx

"OW!"

Sebastian snatched his arm away from Ciel, a red glow beginning the form in his eyes. The boy put down the wet cloth he had been using to clean up the man's wound and sighed exasperatedly.

"Well maybe if you sat still, it wouldn't hurt so much!" the boy fought back, getting in Sebastian's face.

"If you hadn't run away, this never would have happened!"

"I wouldn't have run if you hadn't scared me!"

"You shouldn't have been in the East Wing!"

"Maybe you should learn to control your temper!" Ciel huffed.

This made Sebastian and all of his staff in the room speechless. No one had ever talked back to the master like that before. Surprisingly, both Ciel and Sebastian seemed to calm down; Ciel sat back down and the glow left Sebastian's eyes.

"This is going to sting a little," Ciel warned right before placing the cloth back on Sebastian's arm. The man hissed, but made no other sign that he was experiencing pain. The boy stared into the reception room fireplace as he contemplated asking his nagging question.

"Sebastian?"

"Hm?"

"What...happened, back in the East Wing?"

When he received no reply, Ciel looked back up at Sebastian, who appeared to be deep in thought, as if deciding how much he should tell the boy.

"That...happens whenever I lose my temper," he eventually explained. He sighed. "You see Ciel, I'm not...human. I'm...a demon."

Ciel stopped wrapping the bandage around Sebastian's arm.

"A demon?"

"Yes."

"So then, that room was a collection of things from the decades you've spent here?"

"Centuries," corrected the demon.

"Then what were those two boxes in that little alcove?"

Sebastian paused and grazed his fingers over the sapphire ring on his hand. He stood and moved to the door, but before he left, he said, "They serve to remind me of a mistake I made a long time ago."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

_Ciel was wandering through the mansion, trying to find one of the servants. Actually, he was looking for anybody at this point. He'd spent an hour roaming the entire building, but he hadn't seen anybody. The lack of people was really starting to creep him out. _

_ Then, he saw a flash of black hair. "William?" wondered the boy as he followed the darting person. Every time he turned a corner, it was just in time to see the figure ahead as it disappeared behind another corner. Eventually, it vanished behind an open door. As the dark-haired boy entered the room, he realized that he'd been here once before. This was Sebastian's study. Ciel, remembering why he came in here in the first place, searched frantically for a moment, thinking he'd lost his specter. A slight movement to his right caught his attention and he saw the tapestry covering the alcove entrance rippling. Checking to make sure that Sebastian wasn't in the room, Ciel snuck over to the secret opening and entered the small alcove._

_ At first, the room appeared just as it had when Ciel had been there the first time. Then, he noticed two shadows on the floor stretching towards him. The boy looked up and saw the shadows' owners, a man and a woman. The man was not William, as Ciel first thought, but a complete stranger. His dark hair and dark eyes made his skin seem a little pale, but not the same way as Sebastian's. There was a small mole below the man's left eye, the only imperfection on his otherwise flawless skin. The woman's looks next to him were fairly different. Her long hair was a golden color, her eyes blue with a tinge of green._

_ The couple stood facing Ciel as he gawked at them. Who were these people and what were they doing inside of a demon's mansion? As strange as they looked, the adults didn't appear threatening in any way. In fact, they seemed very warm and welcoming, albeit a bit...sad. The woman gazed at Ciel as though she longed to touch him, but couldn't. The male's face looked like that of an eagle surveying its young. _

_ "Who are you?" Ciel asked, his voice cracking. When was the last time he had actually used his voice? When he received no answer, the boy tried again, but still nothing. _

_ "What are you doing here?" Still no reply, and Ciel decided to leave. As he was turning to retreat, the woman reached out her hand to him, a slightly pleading expression on her face. The boy halted his actions, unsure of what to do. Then, he slowly approached the couple. His eyes remained focused on the pair, in case this was a trick, a trap. He passed the large dark boxes in the middle of the room, barely giving them a thought. When he was only a few feet from the female, something about the boxes caught his attention. They seemed...off, somehow. Breaking eye contact just long enough to glance at the crates, Ciel noticed that both of the lids were slightly crooked. He stopped moving forward and his eyes flicked back to the man and woman, trying to make a connection. _

_ The woman retracted her hand somewhat mournfully and her partner placed his hand soothingly on hers. As the man's arm moved, a glint of light caught Ciel's eye. His eyes zeroed in on the man's hand and saw a sapphire ring._

_ "I've seen that before," he thought, although the boy could not remember where. Ciel closed his eyes in concentration, racking his brain for recollection. Frustrated with the evading memory, the boy opened his eyes to see the duo, gone._


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Ciel could not believe his eyes.

Snow.

Snow covered the manor grounds, like a dusting of powdered sugar on a pastry. The boy ran from his bedroom window to the main hall downstairs, pulling on various items of clothing as he went.

"Young Master," Bard started, "what are you doing?"

"It snowed!" Ciel exclaimed, opening the door.

"But shouldn't you have breakfast first?"

"I'll eat later, Bard. It's not winter; the snow won't last forever." Without further ado, the preteen darted out into the snow and immediately fell over. Ciel pulled his face out of the icy blanket to find himself in a hole. Or rather, one of five holes; four smaller ones around the one Ciel found himself in. It almost looked like. . .no, it was too big to be. . .a paw print?

"Woof!"

The dark-haired boy looked up and found himself face to face with a very large, very wet tongue. Ciel coughed and sputtered in surprise. When the pink appendage didn't assault him again, the child stood up and brushed himself off. From this spot, he could see that the giant tongue belonged to a giant dog. Ciel extended his hand cautiously to the great animal. It closed its golden eyes and allowed him to stroke its long blue-gray fur.

Satisfied that the creature wasn't going to eat him, Ciel wandered off to actually explore the grounds for the first time. For the most part, the property was rather plain and boring. The lawn was void of bushes or decorations, the only shrubbery was the trees that surrounded the mansion lot.

"Woof!"

Slightly surprised, the boy turned to see the over-sized dog sitting in front of him, wagging its tail expectantly. Ciel picked up a handful of snow and rolled it into an icy ball.

"So you want to play, do you?" he asked, tossing the snow between his hands. When he saw the dog's eyes following it, he pulled his arm back and threw the snowball as far as he could. The canine let out a yip and jumped up after it. Ciel smirked and threw another. It was caught easily in the dog's jaws.

"So, I see you've met Pluto," said a cool voice behind Ciel. He halted in mid-throw, and the dog, apparently Pluto, whined in anticipation. Before the blue-eyed preteen could turn to face who he knew to be Sebastian, the demon had Pluto pinned on the ground. "Now now, didn't I teach you not to whine? It's rather impolite," Sebastian gently chastised. Pluto growled softly in response, and the raven stood up, brushing off his coat.

The next thing Sebastian knew, his face was covered in cold, wet snow. He blinked a few times before he could see the child standing in front of him, arm still frozen in post-throw. Anger began to well up in him, and he could tell his eyes were turning red because the boy's own eyes widened with fear. Closing his eyes, Sebastian allowed himself to calm down before he lost it in front of the boy.

Again.

When he opened them again, he knew they were back to normal. In response to Ciel's little prank, the man reached down swiftly and scooped up a handful of snow. That was all the warning Ciel got before a white ball flew at him. It whacked him upside the head and thus a snowball fight ensued between the human and demon.

Ciel was surprised by the man. He never would have thought he would see Sebastian doing this. He seemed like the kind to sit around and be, well, boring. When a particularly hard hit struck the raven in the chest, he toppled backwards into the snow. Two seconds later, Ciel burst out into laughter. This was just too good! Sebastian sprawled out in the snow!

Sebastian himself was surprised, not so much by the fall, but by the boy's reaction. He had a pleasant laugh, one that could make even the devil himself...

Ciel wiped the tears from his eyes to see the demon...smiling? The man's mouth was indeed curled up into a grin and the preteen ran off to find Pluto. The dog was snapping at a bird flying around its head. Ciel called him and Pluto's head snapped to face him before the animal hurried so he could be petted.

"You know, Pluto," he began, stroking the dog's nose, "there's something gentle and insecure. But he was mean, like the devil of course. But now he's near, I've started to see. I wonder why I didn't see it there before."

The boy peeked back at the demon before the pair walked off to the back of the mansion, and Sebastian watched them go. "He glances this way, I thought I saw. And our eyes met he didn't shudder at my gaze. No it can't be, but I can't ignore, he's never looked at me that way before." The demon followed the human to see him rolling around with Pluto in the snow.

Ciel came to a halt and spread out his arms and legs to make an angel. "Weird, but a bit comforting. Who'd have ever thought that he could be...? True, that he's a bit scary, but there's something in him that he will not let be seen."

Unknown to the pair, several servants were watching them from the balcony, amazed at the sight before them.

"Well who'd have thought," Bard said.

Soma chimed in, "Well bless my soul."

William pushed up his glasses, "Well who'd have known."

"Well who indeed."

"And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own."

"It's so peculiar."

"We'll wait and see," the trio said, "a few days more, there may be something there that wasn't there before."

"Well perhaps there is something there that wasn't there before," pointed out William.

Soma looked out excitedly, "There may be something there that wasn't there before."

Ciel looked up to see three of the servants in the balcony and called out to them, "Bard, Soma, William!"

"Yes, master Ciel?"

"Gather all the servants outside!"

"What for?" Bard got his answer in the form of a snowball in his face.

"Snowball fight!"

Within minutes, the entire staff of the mansion was out in the snow. Pluto was mostly used to hide behind, and when he got hit, the dog chased his attacker around the grounds, which made everyone stop and crack up laughing. Everyone found it amusing when Soma threw a stick for Pluto and the dog brought back an uprooted tree and dropped it at his feet. Sebastian was a force to be reckoned with; he could scoop up a handful of snow, roll and throw it before you even see him coming. Not to mention how hard it was to hit him, he moved like a bullet.

Ciel felt a tug on his arm and turned to see Sebastian standing next to him. Putting a finger to his lips he wandered over to one of the side entrances to the mansion. The boy silently followed him, sidestepping flying snow. Once inside, the man led Ciel down several corridors until they were in front of a rather plain looking door.

"Close your eyes," Sebastian said, and the boy obeyed. The demon took his hand, and guided him through the doors.

"Can I open them yet?"

"Not yet," the raven guided him to the center of the room before releasing Ciel's hand. "Okay, now."

Ciel opened his eyes and his jaw fell to the floor. In front of him was a large glass case, filled with violins. He recognized several baroque and classical violins in different shades of browns, blonds, and black. Sebastian could see the longing in the boy's eyes and slid open the glass door. Ciel gave him a questioning look, and Sebastian nodded. He gingerly picked up a deep red-brown violin. The wood felt flawlessly smooth under his careful touch. He dared to pluck one of the strings, forcing it to sing out a perfectly tuned note.

"Do you like it?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes, I love it!"

"Then it's yours. The violins and all of the music here," he gestured to the shelves upon shelves of music that bordered the room. "You may use any of it whenever you like."

Ciel was speechless. "Thank you, but how did you know I played the violin?"

"You have slight calluses on your fingertips where one could expect to develop them from playing the violin," explained the demon.

Ciel ran over to one of the shelves and picked out a piece of music he recognized. He was trying to find somewhere to put it when Sebastian touched his arm.

"Not here," he said, leading the boy to an adjacent room. Inside was a huge room filled with seats and a stage at the front. The whole room was ornately decorated, and it looked just like an elaborate concert hall. Sebastian gestured to the room, "Here."

He brought a stand for Ciel to place the music on while he played, and took a seat in the front row. The child steadied the instrument on his shoulder and lifted the elegant bow to play. His first few notes were hesitant; he'd never played for anyone before. Soon, though, his nervousness receded and the notes began to flow like water.

Outside, the servants all halted their snowball fight when they heard a strange noise. Was someone...playing? They ventured into the mansion, drawing ever nearer to the source of the pleasant sound. When they heard the music flowing from behind a door, it was opened quietly so as not to disturb the musician, who was none other than Ciel! Quietly, they slid into the back seats to listen to the boy play.

When Ciel first noticed them, he almost froze, but his eyes flicked back to the music. He didn't need it anymore, he knew the rest of the piece by heart, and turned away from the stand. Slowly closing his eyes, Ciel let himself be swept away by the music, swaying to the rhythm. He realized that he was living his dream; playing in a great hall with people who wanted to listen to him. The boy kept his eyes closed as he ended the song smoothly. They fluttered open at the sound of someone clapping.

There sat Sebastian, directly in front of him, clapping. The servants began to join in as they rushed to meet Ciel stepping off the stage, shouting their compliments.

"Wow, that was beautiful, master Ciel!" Maylene squealed.

Elizabeth chimed, "I didn't know you could play the violin!"

"You must play for us again, Ciel!" added Finny.

"Yeah!"

"Ciel blushed, "Thank you, all of you-" He was cut off by his stomach, which decided to make a very loud proclamation.

"Now I told you, master Ciel," Bard started. "You should have eaten something this morning. Agni."

"Yes sir! I'll be on it right away!"

The rest of the servants disbanded to continue their hastily abandoned tasks. Sebastian caught up with Ciel in the violin room.

"That really was something, Ciel."

"Thanks," he responded, carefully replacing the music and violin.

"Will you play for me later?" The boy nodded shyly in response. "Great, then how about some lunch?" Ciel answered him by racing out the door, smirking at the demon all the while.

xXxXxXx

It was dark and the sound of a violin playing covered the now snow-free grounds. Ciel sat on the balcony with Sebastian, playing away into the night. The silver moonlight illuminated the boy, making him look like an angel.

Elsewhere in the manor, Bard, Soma, and William listened to Ciel's melody with mixed feelings.

"The master and Ciel have really started to get closer, haven't they?" said Bard.

"Indeed," agreed William, pushing up his glasses, "but will it be in time?"

"The child turns thirteen on the full moon, right?" asked Soma.

"Yes," said Bard somberly, "but will it be enough?"

The trio looked up at the first quarter moon, and Soma sighed.

"We can only hope."


	10. Chapter 9

**I had to re-post this chapter because of an important little snippet I left out. Todya I realized that I forgot to write the "Beauty and the Beast" song! Oh, the shame! Anywho, here's the revised chapter, enjoy!**

Chapter Nine

Tanaka stumbled through the dark forest. He was most definitely lost, but wouldn't admit it to himself, couldn't. Ciel was trapped with that **beast**. He had to get Ciel out of there, just had to. Tanaka would take Ciel someplace far away, as he should have done twelve years ago. Before it was too late.

The old man continued wandering aimlessly into the night.

xXxXxXx

Viscount peered into the dark tea shop. Nothing. No lights, movements, sounds, nothing. He let out a hiss of frustration. Where could Ciel and Tanaka possibly have gone off to? He couldn't carry out his plan without both of them. What was he supposed to do? Monitor their movements?

Monitor...hm...

He cast a look at Ranmao, who was currently peering around, as if checking for enemies.

"Ranmao, you stay here as a lookout and tell me the very instant Ciel and Tanaka return." She responded by nodding once before leaping onto the roof of the tea shop. Satisfied, Viscount set off to make the various preparations needed if the plan was to succeed. Ranmao watched his figure disappear and perched herself on the edge of the roof. She could be very patient...

xXxXxXx

"Ow!"

"Are you alright Ciel?"

Ciel lightly pushed the demon away. "It's this blasted paper cut, it just refuses to heal." He licked a minute drop of blood off of the reopened cut, mentally cursing its stubbornness. "You'd think it would have healed a few days ago..."

The snow they had received was short-lived. As Ciel suspected, it was gone by the next morning. A week had passed since then, a week spent blissfully in the music room. The boy had taken a particular liking to the red-brown violin he had first played, despite sampling the others. The boy and demon had fallen into a routine; Ciel would practice during the day and Sebastian would listen to him in the evening.

"ARGH!"

The scream was followed by several loud bangs, a howl of pain, and more yelling. Sebastian sighed and departed with Ciel tagging along to discover the source of the commotion.

"Stupid piece of crap!...I've had enough!...I've put up with...years! I'll...if I have to!"

Sebastian opened the kitchen door to reveal an enraged Agni and a battered stove. Several hairs on his head were smoking, along with any stray threads on his uniform. The young cook was clutching his foot, which Ciel guessed was why the appliance sported a few large dents.

"Agni," Sebastian said calmly.

The cook jumped, noticing them for the first time. "Oh! Master Sebastian," he bowed low before doing the same to his companion, "Master Ciel."

"Would you care to explain why we could hear your antics from the music room?"

"I-I apologize, Master Sebastian, but it's just that I'm sick of this blasted stove. Sometimes it plain out refuses to turn on and when I get close to inspect it, the heathen roars to life! You can't imagine how many singed hairs and burns I've received in the past fifteen years from this-"

"Wait," Ciel interrupted, "did you just say you've worked with this stove for fifteen years?"

"indeed. The master was kind enough to get this on my sixteenth birthday so I could properly prepare food, but it's been more of a hassle."

"But-"

Sebastian placed his hand on the boy's shoulder to silence him, before addressing his cook. "It appears that we need a new stove. I'll send for one soon, but in the meantime, Agni, do try not to injure yourself further."

"Yes, sir," Agni bowed again as the demon led Ciel out of the kitchen.

Ciel allowed himself to be led silently until they passed a window. Cast5ing a glance outside, he saw the tree Pluto had knocked over last week. But something seemed off about it. In a second, the tree was gone as they passed the window. He waited until they reached the next one to spare a second look. As Ciel saw the tree again, it hit him.

The tree was whole.

Although a week had passed, all of the leaves were still connected to the tree, and not a single one had changed color. There wasn't even a trace of moss visible on the bark.

Ciel stopped; something wasn't right. Sebastian turned, a hint of confusion showing on his otherwise poker face.

"What going on?"

"Ciel?"

"You're hiding something from me, " Ciel accused. "There's something...off about this place. That tree isn't decomposing." He pointed out the window. "And Agni said he was sixteen fifteen years ago, that would make him thirty-one, but he couldn't be a day over twenty. And this," he held up his finger, "it isn't healing. Neither is your arm. I've seen how you favor it and try to hide the grimaces. It's almost as if time...isn't flowing."

Sebastian seemed to ponder the boy's conclusion before sighing.

"You're right, Ciel. Time isn't flowing here and hasn't for the last twelve years."

...What?

Ciel hadn't actually thought his prediction was plausible. He had been expecting the demon to say that the tree was actually fake, Agni just looked young for his age, and that the two of them were simply slow healers. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't...this.

The demon could see the questions forming on the boy's tongue. "Here, it would be easier for me to show you."

Ciel followed Sebastian down several corridors that seemed familiar. It wasn't until they were striding through a room that he recognized it as the forbidden room he had entered before; both awake and in his dream. He wasn't surprised when Sebastian lifted the tapestry for Ciel. Once through, the boy was engulfed in darkness until he felt the man pass him, and seconds later, candles around the small room ignited, seemingly of their own accord.

The two black boxes were still in the middle of the room, as usual. Sebastian stood at the head of them, catching Ciel's eye. His gaze beckoned him to stand beside the demon. He noticed that the man was staring at the boxes before them, as if mixed feelings made him unsure of what to do.

"Sebastian?"

"You asked me before what these boxes held," he recalled solemnly. Without warning, Sebastian slid both boxes' covers down so their contents were revealed. Inside one was a handsome man with dark hair and a small mole under his left eye. The other held a beautiful strawberry blond, her long hair cascading over her shoulders. Both lay in their respective boxes, eyes closed and hands gently clasped.

Ciel looked at Sebastian, "What happened to them?"

Sebastian paused, as if trying to figure out where to start. "Twelve years ago, one of their carriage wheels was destroyed in the middle of a storm. They came here to see if I would let them stay the night, and...I killed them."

The boy contemplated his words for a moment. He cast another glance at the couple before asking, "Who were they?"

Sebastian winced slightly, as if he had been hoping Ciel wouldn't ask that question.

"Your parents."

Ciel's jaw actually dropped. "What?" He looked at them again, and this time, saw several similarities between the couple and himself. His hair looked just like the man's. The boy gingerly lifted the woman's eyelid to see a sapphire eye identical to his own. The human carefully closed the eye before turning to Sebastian.

"You don't believe me," the demon said.

"It's just, hard to believe."

"Then perhaps you should take a look in the mirror," Sebastian gestured to a hanging mirror on the wall.

Ciel stepped hesitantly in front of the glass, a little worried about what he would see. He looked normal, dark hair, although his bangs covered his eyes-

His eyes. Or rather, his _eye_.

He used to have a pair of deep sapphire blue eyes. One was blue. The other was _purple_. In the center of it was a five-pointed star inside a circle. He blinked; it was still there.

The boy ran over to the demon. "What happened to it?"

"Your birthday is tomorrow, right?"

Ciel blinked. "How did you-" He stopped, realizing he didn't want to know. "Can you...help me bury them?"

Sebastian was shocked, but jumped at the chance to amend things. With some help from a few of the servants, they managed to carry the two coffins to the back grounds. Ciel insisted on digging the graves himself, but after a while, his strength gave out and Sebastian finished the job as the boy watched. Ciel went off to pick some wild flowers while the demon covered the graves with dirt.

_Enemies as old as time. True as it can be. _

The boy found a variety of deep blues for one of the bouquets, warm yellows for the other.

_How could they be friends? But then they started to bend, inevitably. _

He lifted the handfuls of flowers to his nose to breathe in their mixed scents.

_Just a little change, small to say the least. _

Sebastian thought the human looked so calm, inhaling the perfume of the flora. He looked away before he could be caught enjoying the little scene.

_Both so stubborn, neither one quite sure. _

Ciel thought he caught the demon glancing his way, but he was waist-deep in the ground when the boy ventured a peek.

_Phantom and the Beast. Never the same, and always a surprise. Never like before, never quite as sure, that the sun will rise. Enemies for all of time. That's what they say in songs. Bittersweet and strange, seeing you can change, and make it right. _

Seeing that Sebastian was finished, Ciel made his way back to the graves with two handfuls of flowers secured with a thin vine.

_Certain that the sun, will rise in the east. Enemies since the start of time, go against the signs. _

The human placed one bouquet on each headstone marker.

_Phantom and the Beast._

"I guess Tanaka really is the only family I have left,"Ciel murmured. "I just wish I could make sure that he's okay."

The dark man fingered the ring on his hand before removing it and placing it on Ciel's thumb. "Think of him." With a questioning look, the boy complied and stared into the sapphire stone. In it, he could see Tanaka reflected in it, stumbling around the forest, helplessly lost. The old man sneezed, the action racking his entire body.

Ciel was alarmed. "He's lost and sick! If he doesn't get help soon..."

Sebastian saw the fear in the boy's mismatched eyes and turned away from him.

"Go," he said.

"What?"

_Enemies as old as time._

"Go find him," Sebastian said, "I release you from our agreement." He felt the cold metal pressed into his palm. "Keep the ring, it was your father's."

_May get it right, in time._

Ciel turned to leave, but before he did, he said, "Thank you."

Sebastian watched his last hope at escaping persecution run off into the forest and out of sight. With a melancholy face, the demon resigned himself to his fate.

_Phantom and the Beast._


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Well," said William, pushing up his glasses as he greeted Sebastian. "I must say that things seem to be going rather well. It looks like you may be able to-where's Master Ciel?"

"I let him go," Sebastian responded.

"Yes, well at any rate, the rest of the servants-what?"

"I let him go."

"B-b-but why?"

"Because it was best for him," said Sebastian, climbing the stairs to his study.

"He did WHAT?"

"It's true," William said.

Finny frowned, "You mean he's gone?"

"And just when he was so close!" Bard said.

"Tis a shame," added Soma. "He'd finally told him the truth."

Bard was struck with a sudden idea. "That's it then! That should free the master."

"But it's not enough," the Indian pointed out. "Master Ciel has to forgive him too, besides thinking of him as a father."

The servants were too busy mourning the loss to notice a young blond sneak away from them and out of the kitchen.

xXxXxXx

"We're almost there," Ciel encouraged as he urged a very weak Tanaka through the town gate. They had gone around the outskirts of the village to reach the town gate closest to the tea shop so that they could sneak in unnoticed. Ciel didn't think that Tanaka could take much more, and was surprised that he'd made it this far, considering the condition he had found the old man in; hopelessly lost, cold, and sick.

The boy was so wrapped up in helping Tanaka up the stairs and into the shop that he didn't notice a shadow dart past them. Ciel laid him down on a small sofa in the dining area. He put a hand to the wrinkled forehead, worried at how heated it was. He ran to the back room and returned with a blanket to cover up Tanaka and a damp towel for his forehead.

"Ciel," the old man whispered when the boy appeared again.

"I'm here, Tanaka."

"How did you manage to escape?"

"Oh, I didn't, he let me go," Ciel explained.

"What? That demon?"

A smile crept onto his lips, "He's..._different_, Tanaka. He's kind and understanding, although he's the one who-"

He was interrupted by a loud knock on the shop door. Ciel opened it to see a tall man with silver hair.

"Can I help you?" the boy asked tentatively.

"I've come to collect the old man," the stranger said in a smooth voice.

"Tanaka?"

"You needn't worry, Ciel, we'll take good care of him."

Behind the man, Ciel could see the townspeople gathered outside. The light from their torches fell on a ragged wooden carriage, which he recognized as the one they used to take away the mentally ill.

"Tanaka is not crazy!" Ciel said through clenched teeth.

"On the contrary," recalled Ranmao, stepping from the shadows. "He was raving like a lunatic. We all heard him, didn't we?" The crowd responded with agreement.

"No, I won't let you!" Ciel fought, trying to push some of the people away.

"Ciel?"

"Tanaka," Ranmao acknowledged. "Why don't you tell us again, how tall was this demon?"

"He, he, well he was very tall, and his wings had to be six, no, eight feet long!" The crowd burst out laughing at the obscenity.

"You can't get any crazier than that," said Ranmao.

"But it's true," Tanaka urged, trying to get down the stairs. He tripped and was caught by two burly men, who dragged him towards the carriage. "Let go of me!"

"No!" Ciel cried, grabbing the arm of the light-haired man. "You can't do this." However, the man easily pulled his arm out of the boy's grip.

"Poor Ciel," said a smooth voice behind him. Ciel didn't need to look to know who it was. "It's quite a shame about Tanaka."

"But you know he's not crazy, right Viscount?"

"Hm, well you know, I might be able to clear this whole issue up, if..."

"If what?" Ciel asked.

The blond pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "If you work for me."

"What?"

"Come on, just sign your name, and the old man is as free as a bird."

"Never," the boy seethed.

"Have it your way."

"Ciel! Let go of me!"

Ciel ran over to the window, pointing his ring at the glass. "Tanaka's not crazy and I can prove it!" Then, "Show me Sebastian." The ring glowed and the reflection of the demon appeared in the glass. The figure looked like a man, then transformed into his true demon form. Gasps issued from the crowd.

"Is he dangerous?" squealed one woman?

"Oh no, he'd wouldn't hurt anyone," Ciel explained. "I know he looks vicious, but he's actually kind and nice." He smiled at the memory of the demon in the snowball fight.

"If I didn't know better," said Viscount, creeping behind the boy. "I'd think you were friends with this monster."

Ciel pulled away harshly, mustering up the sharpest glare he could, both eyes showing. "He's not the monster, Viscount, you are! You and your "bar." I know what you do! Why you only hire cute girls-"

"Look at his eye!" The blond cut off, whirling Ciel around and pulling his hair out of the way, "He's been possessed by the demon!"

"No!" Ciel cried, trying to cover it up.

"Woof!"

Everyone turned to stare at the huge hound that towered behind them. Several women screamed in fright. Viscount darted up to the dog and scratched at his belly, pacifying the creature. He slipped something into the animal's mouth before ordering, "Sit." It sat immediately, completely under the man's control.

"The demon will make off with your souls!" Viscount shouted, the crowd flinching. "He'll come after them in the night!

"No!"

"We're not safe until his head is on the floor. I say we kill the demon!"

"Yeah!"

"We're not safe until he's dead."

"He'll come stalking us at night."

"Set to use our souls to quench his hellish appetite."

"He'll wreck havoc on our village if we let him wander free."

"So it's time to take some action boys, it's time to follow me!" called Viscount, suddenly getting an adrenaline rush. "Through the mist, through the woods. Through the darkness and the shadows, it's a nightmare but it's one exciting ride. Say a prayer, then we're there. At the gates of a manor and there's something truly terrible inside. It's a demon, he's got fangs, razor sharp ones. Massive wings, a killer gaze for the feast. His heart of black, but we're not coming back til he's dead, good and dead! Kill the demon!"

"No! I won't let you do this!" Ciel cried, trying to hold the man back.

"If you're not with us, you're against us. Bring the old man!"

"Get your hands off me!"

"We can't have them running off to warn the demon." Viscount reasoned, shoving the two of them into a nearby shed and bolting it shut.

"Let us out!"

"We'll rid the earth of this beast, who's with me?"

"I am!"

"I am!"

"I am!"

"Light your torch, mount your horse."

"Screw your courage to the sticking place." Viscount shouted as they began their march.

"We're counting on Viscount to lead the way. Through a mist, through a wood, where within a haunted manor, something's lurking that you don't see every day. It's a demon, one as black at the night. We won't rest til he's good and deceased. Sally forth, tally ho, grab your sword, grab your bow. Praise the lord and here we go!"

"We'll lay siege to the manor and bring back his head!"

The townspeople were so caught up in the action that they didn't notice a hooded figure slip into their ranks.

"I have to warn Sebastian." Ciel said, banging on the door. "This is all my fault. Oh, Tanaka what are we going to do?"

"Now now, we'll think of something." He said, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"We don't like what we don't understand, in fact it scares us and this demon is mysterious at least. Bring your guns, bring your knives. Save your families and your homes. We'll save our village and our souls, we'll kill the demon!"

Back at the manor, the servants were conversing amongst themselves. "I knew it," said William. "I knew it was foolish to get our hopes up."

"Maybe it would have been better if he'd never come at all," added a sulky Bard, pacing in front of the window. A figure caught his attention. "Could it be?"

"Is it he?" asked Soma.

"Holy crap, invaders!" The blond cried.

"Encroachers!"

"And they have Pluto!"

"Warn the master, if it's a fight they want, we'll be ready for them!" William pushed up his glasses. "Who's with me?"

The mob was advancing even further, just reaching the edge of the manor grounds. "Take whatever booty you can find," the hooded figure whispered to Viscount, "but remember: the demon's mine."

"Hearts ablaze, banners high." The servants bustled about, trying to get ready. "We go marching into battle, unafraid although the danger just increased."

"Raise the flag, sing a song. Here we come, we're fifty strong, fifty Englishmen can't be wrong. Let's kill the demon!"

Soma knocked on the Sebastian's study, but didn't enter. "Pardon me master."

"Leave me in peace."

"But sir, the manor is under attack."

The manor resonated with the force of the mob trying to break down the door. "Kill the demon, kill the demon!"

"This isn't working!" Bard said, their attempts to hold down the door obviously failing.

"Oh, Bard, we must do something!" The red-headed maid squealed.

"Wait, I know!"

"Kill the demon, kill the demon!"

"What shall we do, master?"

"It doesn't matter now, just let them come."

"Kill the demon, kill the demon, kill the demon!"

The mob gave one particularly hard shove and the door creaked open. They stumbled in cautiously, with no enemies in sight. The hall was quiet, nothing moved. Proceeding along the corridor, the group didn't see a man with short spiky hair creep up behind them.

"Yo."

They all turned to see a blond standing behind them with a...flamethrower? Bard took a knee and aimed his weapon of choice at them.

"Fire in the hole!"

Flames erupted and the mob ducked, with only a few minor burns and some singed hair. The people scattered. Some ran to the kitchen where they were met with a tanned man with white hair. Several brave men charged the foreigner. He said something in a strange language before ripping off the wrapping on his right hand and running at them. Back in the hall, the mob members that were dodging the fire suddenly found themselves in a sort of dance. A red-haired maid hung upside down from a chandelier, a rifle in each hand. She fired at the mob, aiming for their feet. A few people found themselves being assaulted by a man in a suit with what appeared to be a long stick with two short blades at the end. Some were tripped as a little blonde ran around chucking frilly clothes and ribbons at them.

Viscount, his adrenaline high wearing low, turned and fled out the door. The mob followed behind him, terrified of the servants. Then their fear turned to rage as they remembered Ciel's words about Viscount's "bar." Realizing what exactly it was, they chased after him, intending to make him pay for his sins.

Several shouts and cheers were let loose by the servants at their success. However, in their celebration, they didn't notice a hooded figure slip behind them, up the stairs, and out of sight, heading for the East Wing.

* * *

**Ok, there's only one more chapter left, can you believe it? I expect to update on Monday/Labor Day with the final chapter. So please review! ^_^**


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ciel rammed his shoulder into the shed door, but it held fast. He winced as another wave of pain shot through his shoulder. The shed was mostly empty, only a few sacks of potatoes sat on the dirt floor. The only light came from a small hole in the door where a single beam of moonlight shone through.

Exasperated, Ciel plopped down on one of the bags next to Tanaka. Looking down, he realized that his finger had finally healed. The shed suddenly became dark when something blocked the door. There was a loud crack, then the whole structure was lifted and thrown away from them. Standing before the duo was none other than a certain blond-haired boy.

"Finny!"

"Woof!"

Pluto came bounding in from the forest, shaking his head as if to get rid of a bitter taste. He crouched before them and Finny jumped onto the canine's back. "Now, Pluto," he chastised. "You shouldn't have helped that bad man, only friends of the master," he finished, holding out his had to Ciel. He took it and was hoisted up behind Finny.

"Hurry, Finny!"

"Heeyah!"

xXxXxXx

Sebastian allowed himself to return to his human form; it would be less of a mess for the servants to clean up when he turned to ash. The demon stood by the window, overlooking the retreating mob. He faintly heard the door open, but ignored it, thinking it was one of the servants.

"I must admit," said an unfamiliar voice, "I was expecting something a little more...well, more."

Sebastian turned to see a s-eyed man standing in the middle of the room. He wore a dark cloak over a brightly colored kimono. A smirk played across his face. Sebastian returned his attention to the window. If this man was trying to intimidate him, it wasn't working.

There was a flask of silver and a split second laster, the blade of a knife sliced through Sebastian's shirt, cutting into his chest. He tried to jump out of the way, but Lau swept his leg under the demon's feet, sending him crashing through the window. Sebastian had just enough time to grab onto the ledge of the window to stop himself from plummeting to the ground. Jagged shards of glass cut into his pale skin, staining it with crimson.

The demon threw himself back onto the ledge before jumping onto one of the balconies. Lau quickly climbed out in pursuit. Above, there was a crack of lightning, followed by a roar of thunder as the heavens opened onto the earth.

xXxXxXx

They had just reached the edge of the grounds when Ciel heard a loud crash. Looking up, he saw a dark form hanging from a window. He watched as the form lept up and onto a balcony, closely followed by another figure. Whatever the second held in his hand flashed as a bolt of lightning tore open the sky.

The boy practically threw himself off of Pluto when they reached the manor moments laster. His feet pounded up the stairs as the first drops of rain began to fall. He wrenched open the door and ran in, not waiting for Finny.

Ciel was met with confusion, but it turned to joy as the servants saw who he was. "Master Ciel!" several of them exclaimed.

"Where's Sebastian?"

Soma was the first to answer. "He's in his study, Master Ciel."

Cursing under his breath, Ciel ignored the bombardment of questions and raced up the stairs. He zipped down the corridors, heading for Sebastian's study. He ran as fast as he could, but it wasn't quick enough for him. After what felt like an eternity, he burst into the room; the door had been left ajar.

He saw the gleaming window, broken glass scattered across the floor. Water was pooling at the base of the window. Rushing over to the void, Ciel stuck his head out into the rain. There was a balcony a few feet over to the left. Looking down and seeing the ground at least three stories below, the boy decided to run into the room adjacent to the study. There, he found a door leading outside. He opened it and carefully slipped onto the balcony. Gripping the railing so he wouldn't fall, Ciel looked up.

And his jaw dropped.

xXxXxXx

Sebastian's back was pressed against the manor, the knife mere inches from his neck. Lau was pushing it closer and closer to the demon's skin; Sebastian trying to push it back. But the pain from his chest and reopened arm hindered his efforts. Not to mention that the rain made it harder to keep a grip on the slippery blade digging into his hands.

"Sebastian!"

The duo froze to look at the source of the interruption. There was Ciel, clinging to the railing twenty feet from them. The boy was soaking wet. His hair was plastered to his face. Panic was clearly visible in his sapphire eye.

Lau snickered as he leaned in. "You know," he whispered in Sebastian's ear. "He will make an excellent addition to our workers. I'm sure our _male_ customers will absolutely _love_ him."

Sebastian's eyes flashed red and he bared his teeth. That was all the warning Lau got before he was thrown onto his back. The demon pounced on the prone human. Lau's feet connected with Sebastian's middle and pushed him up and over the side of the railing.

"No!" Ciel screamed as he watched the demon tumble over the balcony. He ran further up to look for him, but Lau grabbed the boy's wrist. Ciel bit down on the man's hand as hard as he could. Lau whipped his head back in retaliation.

Ciel flew backwards and slammed into the wall with the force of the impact. Clutching his reddening cheek, the boy tried to scramble away from the advancing man. He seized Ciel by the arm and gave him a good yank.

"You can make this easy or hard, Ciel," he threatened.

Lau was so focused on his catch that he didn't notice a dark shadow crossing over his own until it was too late. He whipped around to come face to face with the demon. His wings were extended on either side of him, increasing his bulk. Lau released his hold on Ciel in an attempt to fend off the enraged demon. The human found himself face to face with a pair of glowing red eyes as Sebastian gripped his throat with one hand. His hold tightened as the demon lifted Lau off of the ground. Lau tried in vain to pry himself loose. Lightning flashed and the human gulped as the light glinted off the razor sharp fangs.

"Wait."

Sebastian turned to face the small boy. Reconsidering, the demon dropped Lau at his feet.

"Now _leave_."

Sebastian felt a pair of arms snake around his middle. Looking back, he saw Ciel hugging him. After a moment, the boy let go and stepped back.

"I released you," Sebastian said, confused. "I killed your parents. That mark on your side, that's my fault too. Why did you come back?"

"I couldn't let them kill you, you're like my father."

The demon was shocked, but for two reasons. One, because of the boy's words, secondly, because of the knife protruding from his back. Reaching around, Sebastian pulled it out, covered with blood. Behind him stood Lau, victory evident on his face. The demon turned and his wings slammed into the human. He slipped on the wet balcony and tumbled over the edge and down to the ground.

Sebastian quickly covered Ciel's ears to keep out the man's strangled scream and the sound his body made as it connected with the earth. His hands slipped as he collapsed.

"Sebastian!" Ciel cried in alarm.

The demon lay in a puddle of water mixed with rivets of dark red. Sebastian's heart almost shattered when he saw the worry etched onto the boy's face. His face scrunched up as a wave of pain swept through his chest.

"Sebastian?"

"I'm...glad you came back...Ciel," Sebastian managed. "Someday you might forgive me...for what I did." The demon closed his eyes and waited for his body to turn to ash.

"...Sebastian?...Sebastian!"

Ciel clutched at the demon, trying to bring him back. The rain slowed to a stop, but drops still splattered on the demon's face. Ciel buried his head in Sebastian's chest as a sob wracked his body.

"But...I already have."

Sebastian's body shifted beneath Ciel, and he lifted his face hopefully. Before his eyes, a sea of cracks broke out across the demon's body. The black wings shattered and turned to dust. Ciel stepped back as Sebastian's body crumbled to pieces. A gust of wind pushed it away, leaving the demon in his human form.

Sebastian's eyes opened slowly and he looked around "Not quite how I remember it," he remarked, sitting up. "Ciel?" he said, noticing the boy. He patted his body, as if checking to see if he was while, before turning back to Ciel.

"Happy birthday."

xXxXxXx

Three years later, a mass of carriages sat outside the manor. People of all ages piled into a great hall. They filled every seat and the servants were more than happy to bring in more chairs.

A teen walked onto the polished stage, violin and bow in hand. He net eyes with an old man in the front row who gave him a small smile of encouragement. Closing his sapphire eyes, the teen took up his bow and pulled it across the strings.

_Certain as the sun._

The crowd sat in awe at the young man's melody as it filled the whole hall with beautiful music.

_Rising in the east._

He swayed to the music, caught up in it.

_Enemies as old as time, go against the grain._

Ciel's tempo suddenly slowed to a lull. The last note hung in the air.

_Phantom and the Beast._

The crowd got to their feet, clapping as hard as they could. Amongst the sea of faces, Ciel caught the eye of a particular black-haired demon.

_Enemies as old as time._

Sebastian flashed the boy a huge grin.

_Got it right in time._

Several people cheered and Ciel set his violin and bow down on a small table. He faced the crowd and bowed.

_Phantom and the Beast._

xXxXxXx

"Young Master."

Ciel opened his eyes sleepily and gave his butler a look.

"Is something the matter?"

The boy groaned as the curtains were opened, unleashing the bright sun on his mismatched eyes.

"Don't make me read before bed again," he said and Sebastian bowed, murmuring a "Yes, my lord," before picking up a small volume from Ciel's nightstand.

It read: _Beauty and the Beast._

* * *

**Well, that's it! So please review and I'll hopefully start updating my next story within the next week. ^_^**


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